Storage compartment on refrigerator door



Feb. 18, 1958 o. v. SAUNDERS STORAGE COMPARTMENT ON REFRIGERATOR DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1955 INVENTOR. Orson l/.' Sounders.

His Armmey.

Feb. 18, 1958 o. v. SAUNDERS 2,823,972 STORAGE COMPARTMENT ON REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed June 20, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Ors on V. Saunders.

BY Fig. 7 2.13%.

His Altar/lay.

United States Fatent ()Eiice 2,823,972 STORAGE. Q M1 RTM N N EFRIGERATOR DOOR b fspfn V; Saunders, Dayton, Ohio, .assignor to General s C m t in D it, Mi h-i a sum of are Application June 20, 1955 Serial No. 516,459 Claims- 12-a11 This inventio relates to refrigeration and particularly to the storage and cooling of eggs in a household. refrigeratq Many. objections to egg storage containers heretofore mounted on the inner surface of household refrigerator cab et dgons have been raised. One of these objections is that; the: eggs are not concealed; from view and in most cases; if they are concealed they are not then. properly cooled. Anotherobjection lies in. the fact that tiltable eggraelgs, containers or compartments on a refrigerator cabineh door if; not; securely latched closed will, under the. weight of; the eggs; supported therein or thereon and the swinging momentum, jerking or slamming of the refrigerator door fly openand cause eggs to. be spilled therefrom and broken When a latch is employed to loch a t ilt able egg container or compartment against tilting relativeto, a refrigerator cabinet door upon which it is; 1n o ted; objections. have been voiced to the necessity, of us ng one hand. to. unlatch the egg container and employing the. other hand, to tilt same while itis: unla tched, i. e., it requires both hands to open the container. It is. therefore contemplated topivotally mount a latched shut egg storage container or compartment? on the door of ahousehold refrigerator cabinet andzto provide, a means whereby the container can be simultanequslyvunlatched andtiltedabout: itspivotalmounting relative. to, the; door by one hand.

A- generalobject of my. inventionis. to-provide animpro ved egg storage arrangement in a recess in the inner face of. a refrigerator cabinet: doorpreferably consisting. of a detachable and tiltable framedike, compartment forming structure around which circulated air; in the the compartment and wherein a plurality. of egg conta ners, are interlocked with. the structure .formaintain ing theeggs against breakage during opening and/or closing swinging movements of 'the door whic-hcontainers are, conveniently removable from the structureto a workta bleor thelilge where eggs. are to vbe, used in-the.--preparatiqrr l of a, meal and which containers are interchangeable with oneanother on the structure.

Another; object of my invention is to .providean egg storage cornpartmenton the inner; face-of a door ofi a household refrigerator cabinet which normally conceals the stored eggs, permits harvesting of oneor more eggs directly. therefrom when the cabinetdoorwis openedand also perrnitsa group of eggs to be simultaneouslyremoved therefromin containers movably interlocked therewithwhile other eggsremain in storage. in the compart: meat a h do r. r

A further object of my invention is to. pivotallyzmount a frarne-like structure in a recessin the inner face o f a refrigerator cabinet door to form an egg cooling and storage compartment thereon, to firmly lock the structure by a latch" at each end thereof against movement about-its pivotal mounting, to provide a common actuator for-unlatching-both-the latches simultaneously, which actuator. also serves to tilt the compartmentforming food storagechamber-of thecabinet; flows to cool skilled in the art after Patented Feb. 18, 1958 structure while it is unlatched whereby separate unlatching and tilting operations are dispensed with and 'both the unlatching and tilting of the structure is accomplished by one hand.

Still further objects,

are understood from the within description.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof wherein like reference characters identify the same parts through-- out the several Views, and wherein:

Figure l is a front view of a household refrigerator" cabinet showing the cabinet door in open position and having my invention incorporated therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectionalv Figure 1 showing the piv-- otal mounting of an egg storage compartment forming;

the refrigerator cabinet door and.

a plurality oi egg containersremovably interlocked with.

the egg compartment forming frame-like structure;

Figure 4 isv a fragmentary sectional view taken on the: line of Figure 3 showing tracks on the frame-like structure. which slidably hold the removable egg containersthereon;

Figure: 5. is a: fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5.-5, of Figure 2. showing a pivotalmounting of the removable frame-like "structure. on the refrigerator cabinet: door;

Figure 6. is' a view similar to Figure. 4 showing theegg compartment tilted; about its pivotal mounting with! respect: to the: refrigerator cabinet door; and i Figure 7 is apers-pective view ofone of the removable 63g: containers: of the device.

Referri'ngrto. the drawings, I show in Figure 1 thereof a household: refrigerator cabinet 10 havinga lower food storage chamber 11 therein and'ia freezing or frozenfood storage chamber thereabove: ClO'SfidE by a closure: member 12;. These chambers; are: forme iby: insulatedwalls as conventional? in: the: art. Chamber l l is provided with a frontv access opening. which: is normally closed by an. insulated door construction: generally. represented by; the reference: character 1'43 hingedly mounted upon cabinet. I sfOII swinging movement" relative. thereto: and which; provides; access; to: chamber; 11: and closure: member; 12; ofithe freezing chamber: A. closed refrigerator system (not shown). includessuitable: refrigerant. evaporators fon- CQOliIIg'j the: interior: ofi chamber. 11 and the interior of the freezing: chamber: to different: terriperatures, relative; to one another; Such refrigerators: are conventional; andlwell; known to those: skilledi in the art and no; further description thereof." is necessary. herein. The: doors construction 14's includes: an"? outer pan-like member 16. and; an: inner; preferably. moldedi plastic, panel suitably secured: together; andhaving insul'at ing material: 18 (see: Figures. 2; 3;. 4-,. and 6") disposed therebetween. A resilient! gasket 1-9risvl'ocked: between the edges,;.of.pan;.member :16 and panelsrnembenl? in any suitable: or: conventional manner and: is: adapted: to engage the front; of; cabinet: I0 fore sealing the l chambers therein; The: inner molded: plastic: door: panel 17 is dished; inwardly. towardt panel 16'; to: provide a1 bottom wall, a:top;wall1 21; a-bachwall 22 and;side.:-walls 2350f arecess in at.least aportion of theinnen faceofidoor 1.4.. Hood; storage. shelves. andmther. ledges-or the like; for supportingnsmallifood productstor. articles-to be-,.re.- frigeratedfby: the cool ain-inichamber, 11.1nay. be located in the recess ofdoor 14 as 'is now common practice in the art.

features and advantages of my invention herein disclosed will be apparent to persons the construction and operation .novel and improved character to increasethe utility of such a means and render'the refrigerator more useful according to expressed desires of users. This means in the present disclosure includes a molded plastic framelike structure having a front wall 26, a bottom wall 27,

and end walls 28. The frame-like structure is horizontally disposed and extends across the inner face of door 14 substantially within the recess provided therein. Walls 26, 27, and 28 of the molded plastic frame-like structure cooperate with walls 21, 22, and 23 of the recessed portion of door 14 to form a vertically elongated relatively narrow and wide article or egg storage compartment on the door. A round stud 29 is formed integrally with each of the end walls 28 of the compartment forming frame-like structure at the lower front portion thereof and projects therefrom for serving to pivotally mount the structure on door 14 for vertically tilting movement relative thereto (see Figure 2). Round stud projection 29 at each end of the frame-like structure normally rests in the bottom of a slot 31 provided in each of the side walls 23 of the recess in the inner face of door 14 (see Figures 2 and thus serving as hinge pins for the structure. The slots 31 are formed in a thickened boss portion 32, having a substantially flat outer surface 33 on each opposed side wall 23 of the door recess. A round stud 34, formed integrally .with the thickened boss portion 32 from the plastic material thereof, projects inwardly from each side wall 23 of the recess in door 14 and provides a keeper portion of a latch at each end of the frame-like structure (see Figures 2 and 6). Another flat surface ear-like boss 36 formed integrally with the thickened portion 32 of each side wall 23 of the recess in door 14 provides stops for limiting tilting movement of the compartment forming frame-like structure and is adapted to be engaged by the edge of wall 28 thereof substantially at the junction of walls 27 and 28 (see Figures 2 and 6). A round stud 37 formed integrally on each of the end walls 28 of the frame-like structure projects outwardly from the upper forward portion thereof (see Figures 2 and 3) and each of which provides a hinge pin having a latch keeper engaging element 38 pivotally mounted thereon. Each element 38 is formed to provide a hook-like end portion 39 (see Figures 2, 3, and 6) which is adapted to hook over the opposed studs 34. The end portions 41 of elements 38 on the other side of their pivotal mounting stud 37 are connected together by a bar member 42. This member 42 extends across the front wall 26 of the egg compartment forming frame-like structure in spaced relation thereto and ties the latches at each end of the structure together to provide a combined common actuator for both latches and a predetermined mass of weight on keeper engaging elements 38 to cause the latches to be automatically latchable when the frame-like structure is tilted into a substantially vertical position with respect to door 14. Member 42 in addition to providing an attractive finish so as to form a decorative strap in front of the frame-like structure also serves as a handle for tilting same about its pivotal mounting pins or studs when door 14 is open. The arrangement is such that a housewife can lift upwardly on member 42 with one hand at any point along the length thereof to simultaneously unlatch both latches at the end of the compartment forming structure. The arrangement is also such that the housewife pulls forward on member 42 at the same time it is lifted to tilt the structure outwardly of the recess in door 14. Thus, both the lifting and forward pulling of member 42 creates a feeling that the frame-like compartment forming structure is unlatched and tilted in one or a. single operation.

' Front wall 26 of the frame-like structure is provided with a plurality of sets of vertically aligned and spaced apart, integral bosses 46 projecting from its inner surface (see Figures 3, 4, and 6). A rail 47 is secured by screws 48 to each set of bosses 46 and extends laterally on each side thereof so as to overlap the same and provide parallel tracks or track portions along the inside of the article or egg storing compartment formed by the frame-like structure. A rail projection 49 formed integrally with and extending along the inner surface of each end wall 28 of the frame-like structure, in spaced relation to front wall 26 thereof (see Figure'3), forms tracks paralleling the track rails 47. The tracks 47 and 49 are equally spaced horizontally apart for the purpose of rendering containers to be interlockedtherewith and supported by the frame-like structure interchangeable with one another at different side by side positions in or on the structure. While the open end slots 31 provide for removability of the entire frameage of the eggs furthermore permits a group of eggs to be simultaneously removed from the refrigerator to a cooking range or worktable when more than a couple of eggs are required in the preparation of a meal. I provide a plurality of open top box-like containers generally represented by the reference character 50 (see Figure 7) which are supported in the egg storage compartment by being removably interlocked with the tracks on the frame-like structure.

The containers 50 are formed of any suitable or desirable molded plastic material and each comprises a base 51, integral upright side walls 52 and a central partition 53 dividing the interior of a container into egg receiving and storing cells 54 and 55. The base 51 projects outwardly beyond one of the upright walls 52 and is provided with a raised or inclined handle 56. Each container 50 is provided with a track receiving portion 57 along two opposed sides thereof and it is to be noted that two of the upright walls 52 and the partition 53 diverge or are inclined outwardly from their bottom to their top in a direction toward the side of the container having the handle 56 thereon for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. The three containers 50 in the present disclosure are adapted to hold two rows of three eggs each in the cells 54 and 55 thereof. Containers 50 are adapted to be moved into supported association with the frame-like structure by sliding the lower lip of the track receiving portion 57 thereon under two opposed tracks 47 or under one of the rails 49 and one track 47. The frame-like compartment forming structure is tilted relative to door 14, as viewed in Figure 6 of the drawings, and then the sides opposite the handle side 56 of a container 50 together with eggs therein are inserted into the frame'like structure and pushed rearwardly until the bottom portion of the container comes to rest against the wall 27. It will be noted by reference to Figure 6 that the inclination of the two walls 52 and partition 53 of the container 50 positions these walls in a substantially vertical plane and places the base 51 of the container in a position inclined with respect to the horizontal when the frame-like structure is tilted against the stops 36. The eggs are disposed in substantially a vertical plane within their cells 54 and 55 and due to the inclined position of the base 51 of the container 50 the one row of eggs rest against the lower side wall 52 and the other row of eggs rest against the partition 53 of the container.

When the frame-like structure is tilted into the recess of the refrigerator door 14 to provide the egg compartment on the door to conceal eggs stored therein, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the two walls 52 and the central partition 53 of each container 50 are maintained in an upwardly inclined position with respect to the horizontal so that the eggs remain in contact with walls 52 and 53 and bear against the base 51. The inclination of walls 52 and 53 of containers 50 holds the eggs in the containers and keeps them from being ejected from their cells 54 and 55 while moving the frame-like structure into the recess in door 14 to provide the narrow vertical elongated compartment therein. The eggs are normally spaced a short distance from the back wall 22 of the recess in door 14 and will engage this wall without breakage when the door is slammed shut to maintain the eggs within their respective cells. The short bottom wall 27 of the structure is normally spaced a substantial distance from the back wall 22 of the recess in door 14 and the top of its front wall 26 and the top of containers 50 terminate short of the upper wall 21 of the recess. This provides a passage for the circulated cold air within food storage chamber 11 around and through the compartment on door 14 over the containers and eggs stored therein for cooling the eggs by carrying away warm air as it tends to form adjacent the inner face of the door behind the egg storage compartment. Thus, the improved egg storage compartment frame-like structure conceals the eggs from view when the refrigerator cabinet door is opened and yet is so spaced relative to the door whereby circulating refrigerated air within the food storage chamber of the refrigerator may pass around or through the egg storage compartment to cool the eggs. The short bottom wall 27 of the frame-like structure is normally spaced a considerable distance from the back wall 22 of the recess in door 14 and the top of its front wall 26 and the top of container 50 terminates short of the upper wall 21 of recess. This provides a passage for the circulated cold air within food storage chamber 11 around and through the compartment on door 14 over the container 50 and eggs stored therein for cooling the eggs by carrying away warm air as it tends to form adjacent the inner face of the door behind the egg storage compartment.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that I have provided an egg storage compartment on the inner face of a refrigerator cabinet door which effectively fulfills the object thereof as hereinbefore set forth and which provides various features and advantages in the use thereof and in the daily use of the refrigerator. The structure is simple, efficient and durable permitting of removal thereof as a unit from the door for cleaning of the inner face of same and permitting of removal of individual sections or containers thereof for cleaning of such containers as independent elements. The interchangeability of the egg containers avoids the same becoming unreplaceable into a proper position on the frame-like structure after two or more of the containers have been removed from the structure and switched with respect to one another. The improved egg storage compartment frame-like structure conceals the eggs from view when the refrigerator cabinet door is opened and yet is so spaced relative to the door whereby circulating refrigerated air within the food storage chamber of the refrigerator may pass around or through the egg storage compartment to cool the eggs.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a refrigerator provided with a refrigerated food chamber having an access opening, a door hingedly mounted upon said refrigerator for horizontal swinging movement relative thereto normally closing said chamber access opening, a panel on said door formed to provide a recess in the inner face thereof, a frame-like structure swingably carried by said door disposed in and ex tending substantially across said recess to provide without the aid of additional means a compartment therein communicating with the interior of said food chamber, said frame-like structure having tracks on the inner side thereof, a plurality of containers each having track receiving portions slidably engaging the tracks on said frame-like structure to removably mount the containers thereon in side by side relationship within the compartment on said door, a partition in one of said containers dividing same into open end egg storage cells disposed one above the other within said compartment with the open end of the cells normally facing said door panel to expose the eggs stored therein to cold air in said food chamber, means for pivotally mounting said frame-like structure upon said door for tilting same relative thereto, means for latching said frame-like structure in its compartment forming position and preventing tilting thereof during opening and closing swinging movements of said door, said latching means being accessible only upon opening said chamber door to unlatch said frame-like structure and tilt same outwardly of the door recess into a substantially horizontal position, and said containers being selectively slidable away from said tilted framelike structure with said open end of the cells in said one container upright to retain eggs therein.

2. In a refrigerator provided with a refrigerated food chamber having an access opening, a door hingedly mounted upon said refrigerator for horizontal swinging movement relative thereto normally closing said chamber access opening, a panel on said door formed to provide a recess in the inner face thereof, a frame-like structure swingably carried by said door disposed in and extending substantially across said recess to provide without the aid of additional means a compartment therein communicating with the interior of said food chamber, said frame-like structure having tracks on the inner side thereof, a plurality of containers each having track receiving portions slidably engaging the tracks on said frame-like structure to removably mount the containers thereon in side by side relationship within the compartment on said door, a partition in one of said containers dividing same into open end egg storage cells disposed one above the other Within said compartment With the open end of the cells normally facing said door panel to expose the eggs stored therein to cold air in said food chamber, means for pivotally mounting said frame-like structure upon said door for tilting same relative thereto, a latch at each side of said frame-like structure for latching same in its compartment forming position and preventing tilting thereof during opening and closing swinging movements of said door, a member connected to each of said latches and extending across the front of said frame-like structure in spaced relation thereto, said member being accessible only upon opening said chamber door and forming a common actuator for simultaneously unlatching both of said latches and serving as a handle to tilt said frame-like structure outwardly of the door recess into a substantially horizontal position, and said containers being selectively slidable away from said tilted frame-like structure with said open end of the cells in said one container upright to retain eggs therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,155,967 Carroll Apr. 25, 1939 2,401,613 Charland June 4, 1946 2,505,324 Hendricks Apr. 25, 1950 2,538,780 Hazard Ian. 23, 1951 2,667,758 Tenney et al 1 Feb. 2, 1954 

